Zr–Ti-based Be-bearing glasses optimized for high thermal stability and thermoplastic formability

A new class of Zr–Ti-based Be-bearing (Vitreloy) glass-forming compositions that exhibit high thermal stability and good glass-forming ability is reported. Optimized ternary compositions were obtained by re-examining the Zr–Ti–Be phase diagram for regions that produce glasses having high thermal stability and modest glass-forming ability. By incorporating a fourth element in the optimized ternary compositions, quaternary alloys were obtained having thermal stabilities twice that of Zr41.2Ti13.8Ni10Cu12.5Be22.5 (Vitreloy-1) while exhibiting good glass-forming abilities. Optimized quaternary alloys exhibiting critical casting thicknesses exceeding 15 mm and thermal stabilities as high as 165 °C are reported herein. The good thermal stability of these alloys renders them attractive for forming processes that can be performed thermoplastically in the supercooled liquid region, in a manner similar to the forming of polymers.